Stop the Insanity Loop-holes have always been an important part of defense in the court of law. This has played a promising and somewhat reliable source for the accused. It is unfortunate that these loop-holes have accounted for many acquittals and hung juries. Among the variety of loop-holes used in the courts, the most common is the insanity defense. This term refers to. ".. a plea that defendants are not guilty because they lacked the mental capacity to realize that they committed a wrong or ...

When someone commits a crime, he or she may use mental illness as a defense. This is called an insanity plea or insanity defense. What the insanity defense does is try to give the alleged perpetrator a fair trial. At least in extreme cases, society agrees with this principle. The problem is where do we draw the line. Under what circumstances is a person considered insane, and when are they not The trouble with the insanity defense in recent years is the assumption that virtually all criminals ha...

Ovid's metamorphoses... The claim of irresistible impulse is a defense in some jurisdictions. The irresistible impulse tests asks if, at the time the crime was committed, a mental disease or disorder prevented the defendant from controlling his or her behavior. The Durham Rule, also known as the product rule, holds that an accused is not criminally responsible if his unlawful act was the product of mental disease or mental defect. The American Law Institute's substantial capacity test, which is ...

What constitutes insanity Currently, legal experts are pondering over this question. More specifically though, many are questioning the issue of the insanity defense, its credibility, and whether or not it should be abolished. When one speaks of the insanity defense, the M Naughten rule comes to mind. The M Naughten rule is a required test that a jury must find that the defendant did not know the nature of the act that he or she could not tell right from wrong (Katsh, 1998). Those who believe in...

Equal justice for the unequal. # For these few who cannot be held accountable for there actions because of mental disability or disease this statement is surly there savu or. The ideal in a free society is that all of its members shall be equal under the law they have chosen to govern them, that they shall share the same rights and responsibilities, and that if they violate their laws they will be punished no differently than their peers, and judged according to a collective sense of justice rat...

The insanity defense traces its history to an 1843 assassination attempt on British Prime Minister Robert Peel. Now, about a third of the states allow a guilty by reason of insanity plea (Witkin, 7). Fortunately, on the contrary to popular belief, only one percent of felony cases led to a ruling of not guilty by reason of insanity. When a killer is ruled not guilty by reason of insanity, they are simply turned loose to reek havoc on society as a whole, while the victims families must deal with t...

In the world today, there are many mentally unbalanced humans, those who can t resist certain impulses due to their mental capacity. People who can t determine right from wrong or even people who cannot control their own self. Some of these people can be classified as criminals. They have done something unacceptable to society. How are these people judged Is it fair to hold them responsible and seek to punish them The courts in all civilized nations have accepted that those who are insane cannot...

Criminal Insanity "Some traits or dispositions are inherited, but the continuity of behavior, including antisocial activity, is maintained by social contexts and other aspects of the environment". - Av shalom Caspi Criminal insanity is a topic which sparks much heated debate. What causes insanity Is insanity a physical or psychological problem Is insanity actually a disease, or just a figment of a persons imagination Groliers Encyclopedia describes insanity as "a mental defect or disorder suffic...

"Insanity is defined as a mental disorder of such severity as to render its victim incapable of managing his affairs or conforming to social standards". (Insanity, pg. 1) It is used in court to state that the defendant was not aware of what he / she was doing at the time of the crime, due to mental illnesses. But insanity is a legal, not a medical, definition. There is a difference between mental illness and going insane. Many problems are raised by the existence of the insanity defense. For exa...

Some traits or dispositions are inherited, but the continuity of behavior, including antisocial activity, is maintained by social contexts and other aspects of the environment, -Av shalom Caspi. Insanity is described as a mental defect or disorder sufficient to prevent a person from knowing the difference between right and wrong and his own actions. Insanity applies to criminals in an interesting way. If a criminal does not know the difference how can they be held accountable for the crimes they...